The present teachings relate generally to methods and apparatus for performing image recognition and visual searching using a mobile device, and more particularly to platforms and techniques for pre-processing an image acquired on a mobile device to extract a reduced set of image parameters that can be communicated to a network recognition system to identify objects of interest, and search for relevant content based on that identification.
Advancements in cellular communication technology and mobile communication devices, such as the integration of camera and video recording technology onto such communication devices, incorporation of e-mail and short messaging services into cellular communication networks, and the like, have added greater flexibility, processing power, and communication capabilities to already ubiquitous mobile communication devices. As a result, such mobile communication devices have become more popular in the consumer marketplace, and many consumers now rely on their mobile communication devices, such as cellular phones, to take pictures and shoot videos, exchange messages in their social network, make purchase decisions, conduct financial transactions, and carry out other activities.
Advertising and other information content can be targeted, delivered, and priced based on the click-thru and conversion rates of the content by the intended recipients, which are affected by the relevance of the advertising content and the timeliness of its delivery. For example, a majority of consumers in Japan have used their cellular phones to take pictures of barcodes in printed advertisements to obtain information associated with the advertised products or services, and if relevant advertising content is promptly sent to the potential consumers' cellular phone, such advertising content is likely to have a high conversion rate. The potential consumers take pictures of a printed advertisement using their cellular phones, which then send multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages with the picture of the printed advertisement to a server. The server performs a one-to-one matching of the picture with a database of advertisements, and after about thirty to sixty seconds, the server sends a short messaging service (SMS) message containing a web link associated with the printed advertisement to the potential consumers. However, such advertising and information content targeting and delivery systems require a substantial amount of bandwidth to transmit the pictures of the printed advertisement and expend substantial resources and time to match the pictures with an entire database of advertisements.